Monday Memo: Colombia Peace Talks — U.S. Refugee Status — Petrobras Arrests — Cuba Tourism — Pemex Investments
This week’s likely top stories: Colombia’s peace talks suspended over kidnapping; U.S. will grant refugee status to select minors from Central America; Brazilian police arrest 27 in Petrobras corruption scandal; Cruise ship tourism is booming in Cuba; Pemex invests millions in hydrocarbon production and exploration. Kidnapping Halts Colombian Peace Talks: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos … Read more
Latin American Leaders Seek Chinese Investment at APEC
Beyond seeking to deepen trade links with Asia, the leaders of Chile, Peru and Mexico—the three Latin American member states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)—used their time in Beijing to push for greater Chinese investment in their countries. The three leaders also backed a Chinese-led proposal for a Free Trade Area of the Asia … Read more
Monday Memo: Brazil Military Drills — Mexico High-Speed Rail — Colombia FARC Trials — AT&T Expands — Mexico Protests
This week’s likely top stories: Brazil’s military launches training operation in Amazon; Mexico cancels high-speed rail contract to Chinese-led consortium; Indigenous court in Colombia convicts seven FARC members; AT&T purchases Iusacell; Mexico erupts in protests over reported discovery of remains of the 43 missing students. Brazilian Military Trains in the Amazon: According to the chief … Read more
Peace in Colombia: Negotiating to Move On
On the afternoon of February 27, a bright and warm winter day in Cuba, the staff at the Hotel Nacional in Havana busily prepared for the arrival of former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was due to a give a talk to a group of business people that afternoon. Meanwhile, I was … Read more
Senator Rubio to Visit Colombia
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) will travel to Colombia today for a two-day meeting with Colombian government officials, businesses and civil society organizations to discuss security, trade and human trafficking, his office said Tuesday. Senator Rubio will be traveling to the South American nation in his capacity as a member of the Senate’s intelligence and foreign … Read more
Manos Sucias
Brothers Delio and Jacobo stand by as two Colombian military officers inspect their boat, desperately hoping their stash of cocaine submerged just below the water won’t be discovered. After a few tense minutes, the officers depart, leaving the brothers to await further instructions from the drug lords. This is just one of several suspense-filled scenes … Read more
The Obstacles to Political Integration Post-Peace
After three years of negotiations with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Colombia (Revloutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—FARC) Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has decided to go all-in on securing peace for his country. His political and personal commitment became clear earlier this year when he staked his entire campaign for his second term in office … Read more
Law and Reconciliation in Colombia
Ultimately, the success of any peace agreement between the Colombian government and the country’s largest guerrilla group, the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—FARC), will hinge on reconciliation. A successful process of reconciliation requires finding the balance between defending the rights of victims and gaining the trust of former combatants—members of … Read more
Colombia and the War in the Eyes of the FARC
Haz click aquí para leer una versión de este artículo en español. In August, the 27th round of negotiations between the Colombian government and delegates from the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—FARC) took place in Havana. Since November 2012, both sides have been negotiating behind closed doors to search for ways … Read more
The ELN’s War
The recent 50th anniversary of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (National Liberation Army—ELN) led journalist Ramón Campos Iriarte to the jungles of Colombia’s western Chocó province, where open war between guerrillas, government forces and paramilitary groups has been escalating. The ELN—self-defined as a Marxist-Leninist organization influenced by liberation theology—was created on July 4, 1964, in … Read more
Climate Change: COP 20 in Peru
As host of the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in December, Peru has assumed a challenging burden. Ministers and high representatives of 195 countries and international organizations, along with roughly 15,000 visitors, will gather in Lima to mark the 20th annual session of the Conference of the Parties (known as COP 20)—the governing body … Read more
Constructing Peace: How the Private Sector Can Help
Colombia finds itself at a watershed in the country’s history. With the possible end to over half a century of violence, a new peaceful future beckons. But Colombia’s much-desired peace will not just fall from the sky. It will have to be built by all Colombians through an arduous, perhaps decades-long process. We have come … Read more
The Myths of the Colombian Peace Process
From its very beginning, Colombia’s peace process has aroused enormous expectations, not only within Colombian borders, but also in the international community. The negotiation is, in good measure, the result of the “Policy of Democratic Security” adopted by President Álvaro Uribe Vélez during his two terms (2002 to 2010), which helped limit the Fuerzas Armadas … Read more
Ask the Experts: Colombian Peace Process
Clem McCartney answers: Colombia has already had the foresight and wisdom to analyze the experience of other countries in bringing internal conflicts to an end—including South Africa, the Philippines and Northern Ireland. As I write, representatives of the conflicting parties in Northern Ireland have just finished meeting Colombian government and FARC negotiators. Perhaps the immediate … Read more
Post-Conflict Campesinos: Recovering Rural Colombia
Armed conflict and the presence of non-state armed actors harm both agricultural production and rural households’ well-being, for at least two broad reasons. First, conflict disrupts economic activities by hampering access to critical inputs and markets. As a result, producers may reduce or curtail planting or harvesting. Second, rural producers face an unpredictable environment for … Read more
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